Hikari Tsushin Sinks 42% to 45,800 Yen-Shr; 1st Trade in 7 Days
4/9/00 11:39:00 PM
Source: Bloomberg News
URL: www.cnetinvestor.com/newsitem-fd-bloomberg.asp?symbol=83474869
Tokyo, April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Hikari Tsushin Inc. shares traded for the first time in seven days, falling 42 percent to trade at 45,800 yen a share.
Shares of the company, which sells cellular phone handsets, subscriptions and e-mail services, was untraded for the past six days as sell orders overwhelmed buy orders amid concerns the company's earnings prospects have dimmed.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange requires that the number of buyers and sellers are about equal for a stock to trade. The stock did not trade until the close today, when the exchange was able to match enough buyers and sellers to execute a trade. The stock last traded on March 30.
After the market closed on March 30, the company said it will post an operating loss of 13 billion yen ($124 million) for the six months ended in February, compared with an earlier forecast of a 6 billion yen operating profit. It attributed the loss to fewer new phone subscriptions than expected, reducing commissions it receives from carriers such as DDI Corp. by 17 billion yen from earlier forecasts.
The earnings revision was followed by a spate of brokerage downgrades, as Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Commerz Securities (Japan) Ltd. cut its rating on the stock.